Stator winding machine



Oct. 17, 1967 g am-4 3,34?,474

STATOR WINDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 20, 1964 16 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

:m amm Oct. 17, E96? A. E. FRANK STATOR WINDING MACHINE INVENTOR me 77m? A Fkmmk ,vzrapmez 1967 A. E. FRANK STATUE WINDING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 20, 1964 win Fig. 5

g 5:: R i m V m 2 v m w IEWL w m m 31mm AA 6H .iRC 0 OT 2 mm 2 a MC EIN PCO .c w 4 N R DUE mm/ 0 w w 06. 17, 1967 FRANK $5,347,474

STATOR WINDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 20, 1964 16 Sheets$heet 5 INVENTOR. fl/WZ M? E. FEW/f BY Oct. 17, 1967 FRANK 7 3 ,347,474

STATOR WINDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 20, 1964 l 3.6 Sheets-Sheet 6 65 ma my FIG.8

INVENTOR.

4277/01? 5, FfifiM/K ZJKW 16 Sheets-Sheet '7 INVENTOR.

A. E. FRANK STATOR WINDING MACHINE Oct. 17, 1967 Filed Aug. 20, 1964 Oct. 17, 1967 A. E. FRANK 3,347,474

STATUE WINDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 20, 1964 1,6 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR.

#1 74402 15. FEW/VA 5&47374 Oct. 17, 1%?- A. a; FRANK STATUE WINDING MACHINE l6 Sheets-sheet 9 Filed Aug. 2'5), 1964 y 3 i V 0 w "n m m u d Q. n 1 H w l H H Q" 6 G in F 0 U a m W: a, QM: a i W. I 3 EA um: Wm F u m1 6 7 mm 5 u @wi Wm: mm W 0 V w 7/ mug I @m L 0 9 L 7 L W T L l M I'm- 3 FIG-J2 i INVENTOR.

, MP7 #14? AS F/PI/V/f 1967 A. E. FRANK STATUE WINDING MACHINE 1,6 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed Aug. 20. 1964 I NVE NTOR 4/? 77m? 5. FFfl/Yk WNM Out. 17 1957 A. E. FRANK 35:34:7 ,474;

STATOR WINDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 20, 1964 3,5 Sheet5-5heet 11.

izp m 1 1967 A. E. FRANK STATUE WINDING MACHINE 3.6 shsatsflsheat 3.2

Filed Aug. 20, 1964 INVENTOR. flFTl/M? ,5. Femvk 1957 A. E. FRANK STATOR WINDING MACHINE 1,6 Sheets-Sheet 15 Filed Aug. 20, 1964 INVENTOR. 4277/02 E. FER/YA A. E. FRANK STATOR WINDING MACHINE Oct. 17, 1%?

Filed Aug. 29. 1964 16 Sheets-Sheet, 14

WWW wvmm INVENTORJ' 1%? 71/05? f. FEW/V xnramw z Oct 17, 193? E FRANK 3,34'Kfi-74 STATOR WINDING mom-NE Filed Aug. 20, 1964 16 Sh e'ts-Shee't 15 United States Patent 3,347,474 STATOR WINDING MACHINE Arthur E. Frank, Imperial, Mo., assignor to Wagner Electric Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 390,938 21 Claims. (Cl. 242-1.1)

The present invention relates generally to winding machines aud like devices and more particularly to a machine for winding stators for dynamo-electric machines and other similar devices.

Briefly, the present device comprises a machine having means thereon for mounting a slotted stator core or similar device on which one or more wire windings are to be wound. The machine also includes wire guide means positioned adjacent opposite ends of the mounted stator core for guiding wire into preselected core slots during the winding thereof, and means for feeding wire to said guide means and to and through the preselected core slots in a predetermined arrangement until all of the slots to be wound have the proper number of winding turns positioned therein. The wire feed means for the subject device include means for feeding wire to the aforementioned guide means in such a manner as to prevent undue stressing, bending, kinking or otherwise damaging the wire, and the subject machine also includes means for predeterminately adjusting the guide means and the feed means to vary the winding arrangement or pattern so that the machine can wind many different kinds and sizes of windings and core structures.

It is a major object of the present invention therefore to provide improved means for winding stator cores and like devices. 7

Another important object is to reduce the cost of manufacturing dynamo-electric machines and similar devices.

Another object is to reduce or eliminate manual labor in the winding of core structures.

Another object is to provide fully automatic means for laying windings in stator core slots and the like.

Another object is to provide a stator winding machine that is versatile and flexible to be able to wind many different winding patterns and many different core constructions and sizes.

Another object is to reduce or eliminate wire damage in wire wound devices. I

Another object is to provide automatic means for winding slotted stator cores and like devices regardless of the physical characteristics of the cores, the number of winding slots therein, the winding pattern, and the spacing of the slots.

Another object is to improve the uniformity, quality, and reliability of wire wound devices such as dynamoelectric machines and the like.

Another object is to minimize human errors and other waste in the winding of stators and like devices.

Another object is to reduce the time required to wind stators and similar devices.

Yet another object is to provide a winding machine which can be operated by personnel having relatively little skill and training.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after considering the following detailed specification covering preferred embodiments of the subject machine in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, show: ing a stator winding machine constructed according to the present invention; 1

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a typical slotted stator core to be wound by the subject machine;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the wire feed mechanism of the subject machine;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 77 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view showing a somewhat modified form of the subject machine including the drive means therefor;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the indexi g means employed on the subject mac me;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged side elevational view partly in section of the adjustable index control means employed on the subject machine;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the index control means of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 13-13 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 1414 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is an end view showing a portion of one bank of wire guide elements employed on the subject device;

FIG. 16 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a single wire guide assembly as seen along line 16-16 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in section, taken on line 17-17 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged cross-section view taken along line 18-18 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing a portion of one bank of wire guides in the different operating positions thereof;

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary side elevational view partly in section showing a modified form of wire feed mechanism;

FIG. 21 is a view similar to FIG. 6 for the modified feed mechanism of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing a modified form of the output end portion for the wire feed mechanism of FIG. 20;

FIG. 23 is a right end view of the modified wire assembly of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is another cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 6 showing still another modified form of wire feed mechanism for the subject machine;

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 25-25 of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the modified wire feed mechanism shown in FIGS. 24 and 25; and

FIG. 27 is a chart showing the relative time and se quence relationships for the more important operating components of the subject machine.

Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference-numbers, the number 20 refers generally to a machine for winding stator cores and similar devices. The machine 20 includes an input source of wire indicated generally by 22, a wire feed mechanism indicated generally by number 24, drive means 26 for the wire feed mechanism 24, stator mounting means 28, and guide means 30 positioned adjacent to the stator mounting means 28. The guide means 30 support and properly locate the coil turns fed by the wire feed? mechanism 24 between succeeding slots of a stator core. A typical slotted stator core 32 is shown in FIG. 2. The guide means 30 3 also establish the most desirable length and shape for the coil end turns and they minimize looseness and waste of wire.

The machine 20 receives wire from the bulk wire source 22 and feeds it to and through the feed mechanism 24. The feed mechanism 24 in turn feeds the wire through the slots of the core 32 and also around and onto the guide means 30. The core 32 is usually a laminated structure having a large central opening 33 with a plurality of spaced winding slots 34 positioned around the opening 33 as shown in FIG. 2. The number, size, shape, and spacing of the slots are all variables depending upon the type and capacity of machine for which the stator is being made and the particular arrangement and pattern desired for the windings to be positioned in its slots.

The subject machine also includes means for placing insulation or insulating segments in the slots, means for indexing the machine to produce a particular winding arrangement, means for drawing out the end loops of the windings and for cutting and holding the end loops drawn out, and other structural and operational features which will be described hereinafter. The main portions of the subject machine including the wire feed mechanism, the guide means, and the indexing means will be described separately hereinafter. It is to be understood, however, that each portion of the machine is constructed, coordinated and adjusted to operate in conjunction with all other portions thereof during a winding operation.

Wire feed mechanism The wire feed mechanism 24, and the drive means therefor, are shown in detail in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The feed mechanism 24 is constructed and operated to feed Winding wire 36 from a bulk feed wire spool 40 around a freely rotatable first feed roll 42 and then down and around a second rotatable feed roller 44. The wire 36 is then fed through a feed tube 46 which extends through a larger diameter tube 47. The tube 47 extends through a still larger diameter tubular member 48 which is part of a reciprocating wire feed assembly or gun 50. The tube 47 is also supported for rotational movement by a hearing assembly 49 which is mounted in a non-rotatable inlet guide assembly 58 which will be described later.

During a winding operation the gun assembly 50 moves axially back and forth a predetermined distance under control of a reciprocating drive and on alternate strokes feeds wire through different spaced slots 34 of the core 32. The axial feed strokes of the gun assembly 50 alternate with machine indexing operations as will be shown. The distance the gun assembly 50 travels during its axial movements is adjustable depending upon the dimensions and physical characteristics of the core being wound, and the indexing operations of the gun assembly are also adjustable depending on the spacing of the succeeding core slots 34 into which wire is placed. The location of the wire guide means are also adjustable. The gun assembly 50 is therefore controlled for axial as well as for rotational movement during a winding operation.

The wire fed into the assembly 50 passes through the assembly and out at the opposite or output end thereof. The output end of the assembly 50 includes a wire guide member 52 that has a curved groove or channel 54 formed therein (FIGS. 1 and 3). The wire which moves through the tubes 46 and 48 of the assembly 50 moves out therefrom along the curved groove 54 during a feeding operation. The curved groove 54 is rounded at 55 to be able to discharge the wire 36 at any angle without binding or rubbing unduly. The guide member 52 is attached to the end of the reciprocating feed assembly 50 and rotates with the assembly as will be shown. The amount of rotation of the assembly 50 and the attached guide 52 is carefully controlled and depends upon the angular spacing between succeeding core slots in which the wire is to be placed. The angular rotation of the'assembly 50 is also adjustable to enable the machine to wind different winding arrangements and different core constructions as aforesaid.

It is important that all parts of the wire feed mechanism 24, including the assembly 50, the input rollers 42 and 44, the guide 52, and the associated parts handle the wire in a gentle firm and precise manner so as not to unduly stress, rub, scrape, bend, twist, kink or otherwise damage the wire during winding. At the same time, the wire must be positively, accurately, and precisely controlled at all times and under all conditions of feeding, and the wire must never be subjected to excessive drag, although some drag or wire tension is desired in order to more accurately form the end loops of the winding turns. All of these requirements are met by the feed and guide means of the subject device.

The incoming wire 36 after being fed around the roller 42 passes between the roller 44 and a smaller diameter roll 56 which is positioned adjacent thereto. Thereafter, the wire passes between the roller 44 and a curved segmented guide assembly 58 shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. The guide assembly 58 is constructed to operate in conjunction with the guide roller 44 to permit the wire to easily advance forwardly during a feeding operation but prevents the wire 36 from moving backwards in the feed 24 during the return strokes of the feed assembly 24. The guide assembly 58 has a plurality of curved or tapered grooves 60 any one or more of which can be used to guide wire around corresponding aligned grooves 45 of the roller 44 and into the feed mechanism. The grooves 60 are curved to the shape of the roller 44, and are formed by beveled edges of segment members 62 which form the assembly 58. During forward feeding movements of the wire, the wire moves around the roller 44 in the grooves 45 and is spaced from the surfaces of the grooves 60. At other times, during the operation of the machine as when the assembly 50 is moving on its rearward strokes, there is a tendency for the wire to also inove rearwardly. During these times, however, the wire will move away from the surface of the roller 44 and against the tapered surfaces of the associated grooves 60. In so doing, the wire will engage the tapered groove surfaces and will be prevented thereby from moving rearwardly. The assembly 58 including the rollers 44 and 56 is mounted for reciprocating movement along a track 64 but does not rotate.

The gun assembly 50 includes a housing 70 which is mounted for reciprocating movement on a pair of spaced guide rails 66 and 68 (FIGS. 1, 3, .5 and 6). The housing 70 has a pair of sidewardly projecting portions 72 and 74 which house bearing assemblies 76 and 78 respectively. The bearing assemblies 76 and 78 are constructed to permit the housing 70 and the feed assembly 50 to move easily along the rails 66 and 68. The housing 70 also has a downwardly extending portion 80 (FIG. 3) with an elongated transverse track 82 formed in the bottom thereof, and the track 82 cooperatively receives a roller 84 (FIG. 1) which moves therealong to impart reciprocating motion to the assembly 50. The track 82, the roller 84 and the drive means therefor operate as a Scotch Yoke to impart motion to the assembly 50, although other motion producing devices could also be used.

The roller 84 is mounted on an arm 86 which is rotatably supported by a vertical shaft 88. The shaft 88 is journaled in a fixed support 90 and the opposite end of the shift 88 carries a gear 92 which meshes with a sector gear 94 on another pivotal arm 96. The arm 96 is attached to another vertical shaft 98 that is journaled in another fixed support 100. The lower end of the shaft 98 carries a follower assembly 102 which includes a pair of spaced rollers 104 and 106. The rollers 104 and 106 engage and roll on opposed cam surfaces formed on a rotating structure 108 which is mounted for rotation with a shaft 110. The structure 108 is rotated at a predetermined speed by a drive motor and suitable gear reducer means. The opposed cam surfaces are formed on an annular peripheral cam portion 112 (FIGS. 1 and 5) which moves between the rollers 104 and 106, and the portion 112 is shaped to impart predetermined angular motion to the arm 86 and hence also to the roller 84 in the track 82 to cause the assembly 50 to move back and forth along the rails 66 and 68 at predetermined times in the cycle as can be seen by referring to the sequence chart of FIG. 27.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, the housing 70 is shown having a rotatable structure 114 extending therethrough. The structure 114 is journaled to the housing 70 by bearing assemblies 116 and 118 and is attached at one end to the tubular member 48 and at the opposite end to an other tubular member 120. The other end of the tubular member 120 is connected to a fitting member 122 which in turn is connected to an adaptor 124. The Wire guide member 52 is fixedly mounted on the adaptor 124. The adaptor 124 is also threadedly connected to a smaller diameter tubular member 126 which receives an end portion of the tubular member 46. The member 46 therefore extends from adjacent to the input end of the wire feed mechanism 50 to adjacent the output end thereof, and has an internal diameter large enough to freely receive the wire or wires 36 but small enough to prevent the wire from bending or kinking therein. The tubular member 46 communicates with the tubular member 126 as aforesaid and also with a passage 128 in the adaptor member 124 and thereafter with the curved outlet groove 54 in the guide 52. As already noted, the outlet end of the curved groove 54 is rounded at 55 to minimize friction with the wire in all positions thereof and to enable the wire to feed from the .end of the groove at different angles without damage or excessive rubbing.

The portion of the tubular member 46 that passes through the housing 70 carries a rack gear member 130 which has teeth 132 along one side that cooperate with teeth on a pinion gear 134 (FIG. 6). The rack gear 130 also has a flange member 136 attached to one end thereof which engages one end of a compression spring 138 that is positioned around the member 46 and inside of the tube 120. The opposite end of the compression spring 138 (FIG. 3) extends around the tubular member 126 and engages the end of the fitting 122. The spring 138 is compressed during indexing operations of the machine and is released thereafter during the next axial movement of the gun assembly 50 as will be shown.

Indexing means Part'of the mechanism that controls the rotation of the gun assembly 50 is included in the housing 70, part is in an adjustable cam assembly 140 that is attached to the upper wall of the machine 20 as shown in FIGS. 1, 11, 12 and 13, part is in an indexing mechanism 141 shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, and part is also in the drive means for the indexing mechanism 141 shown in FIGS. 1, 7 and In FIGS. 6 and 8, a gear 142 is shown positioned in the housing 70 inside of the rotatable structure 114 and adjacent to the elongated rack gear 130. The gear 142 is mounted on one end of a shaft 144 and the opposite end of the shaft is connected to bevel gear 146. The bevel gear 146 is positioned between and cooperatively engages two larger diameter spaced and opposed beveled gears 148 and 150 which are mounted for rotation in the housing 70. The bevel gears 148 and 150 are annular in shape and extend around the rotatable structure 114. The annular bevel gear 148 is journaled for rotation in the housing 70 by means of a bearing assembly 152, and the annular bevel gear 150 is similarly joumaled for rotation in the housing 70 by another bearing assembly 154. Each of the bevel gear 148 and 150 is also provided with associated brake means which operate to prevent rotation thereof at certain times. The brake means for the gears 148 and 150 include brake members 156 and 158 respectively (FIGS. 3 and 8). The brake members 156 and 158 are oppositely disposed in transverse slides 156a and 1580: respectively on the housing 70. Each brake member 156 and 158 also has an upwardly extending shaft 160 and 162 6 j j attached thereto, and the shafts 166' and 162 have rollers 164 and 166 respectively mounted thereon. The brake members 156 and 158 are also biased by springs such as the spring 165 shown in FIG. 8 into positions engaging their associated bevel gears 148 and to prevent rotation thereof.

The rollers 164 and 166 act as cam followers and engage and move along surfaces of adjustable cam members 167 and 168 respectively on the assembly 140 (FIGS. 11, 12 and 13) during axial movement of the gun assembly 50 as will be shown. The cam members 167 and 168 are positioned in the overhead assembly 140 as shown in FIGS. 5, 11 and 13, and are shaped as shown in FIGS. 11, 12 and 13. The follower rollers 164 and 166 and their associated brake members 156 and 158 are cammed outwardly (FIGS. 5 and 13) in opposition to springs during most of the longitudinal movement of the gun assembly 50. In the cammed out position, the bevel gears 148 and 150 are free to rotate in the housing '70. At the forward and rearward end positions respectively of the assembly 50, however, a different one of the bevel gears 148 and 150 will be locked by its associated brake member 156 or 158 and prevented thereby from rotating in the housing 70. At these times, the indexing drive mechanism 141, which will be described later, operate to rotate the assembly 50 in opposite directions at each end position of the assembly 50. This is done to move the Wire guide 52 from a position aligned with the end of one core slot 34, which has just been wound, to a position aligned with a different core slot to thereafter be wound. For example, at one end of travel of the assembly 50, the bevel gear 148 will be prevented for rotating and this will cause the small bevel pinion gear 146 to roll therearound during rotation of the assembly 50 by the indexing means. This in turn will move the rack gear 130 forwardly in the gun assembly 50 to compress the spring 138 At the opposite end of travel of the assembly 50, the bevel gear 150 instead of the gear 148 will be prevented from rotating and in this condition theindex means will rotate the assembly 50 in the opposite direction so. that the bevel gear 146 will roll around the gear 150 instead of around the gear 148. Rotation of the assembly 50 in this condition will produce the same effect as before in that it Will also compress the spring 138 by advancing the rack gear to the right as seen in FIG. 6. Between the end positions of the assembly 50, however, both of the bevel gears 148 and 150 are unrestrained or unlocked and free to rotate to allow the rack gear 130 and the associated mechanism in the housing 70 to be restored by the spring 138.

The annular rotation of the guide 52 produced by the indexing means during each indexing operation is also adjustable as will be shown to cause the guide means 52 to move between different slots depending on the core construction and the winding pattern desired. During angular movement of the wire guide 52, wire will be laid around guide means positioned adjacent to opposite ends of the core and provided to form the end loops of the windings to the desired shape and position. The guide means on which the end loops of the windings are positioned also prevent the wire from being in contact with sharp edges on the core structure which might otherwise damage the wire. It is important to understand that for most winding operations the guide 52 will rotate in one direction at one end of each stroke of the gun assembly 50, and will rotate in the opposite direction at the other end of each stroke in order to Wind complete winding turns. This is accomplished by rotating cam 112 which alternately produces reciprocating. and rotational movements of the gun assembly 50 as herein described, and also by the action of locking and releasing the bevel gears 148 and 150 so that the spring 138 can be restored.

The means for controlling the rotatability of the bevel gears 148 and 150 are shown in detail in FIGS. 1, 5, 11, 12 and 13 and are included in the overhead assembly 140.

7 The structure 140' has an upper wall member 170 which is attached by bolts or other means to the top wall of the machine. The assembly 140 also has a downwardly extending elongated portion 172 which is positioned above the gear housing 70 and extends in the direction in which the gun assembly 50 including the housing 70 moves. Two channel shaped members 174 and 176 are attached to the member 172 adjacent its lower edge and together define an elongated channel which slidably receives the two relatively movable cam members 167 and 168 (FIGS. 5 and 13). The cam members 167 and 168 are slidable in the channel on spaced flanges 174a and 176a, and each cam member 167 and 168 has an elongated gear portion 167a and 168a which cooperates with a pinion gear 178 positioned therebetween. The pinion gear 178 is mounted on the lower end of a shaft 180 which extends through a bore 182 and suitable bearing means in the portions 172 and 170, and the upper end of the shaft 180 has another gear 184 attached thereto which meshes with a larger diameter adjustment gear 186. The adjustment gear 186 is mounted on a threaded member 188 and has an upper surface which is calibrated with a suitable scale to cooperate with a mark formed on the upper surface of the member 170. When the member 188 is loosened the gear 186 can be rotated for adjustment purposes, and this in turn rotates the gears 184 and 178. Rotations of the gear 178 causes the cam members 167 and 168 to slide longitudinally in opposite directions along the channel in which they are positioned. This changes the positions of the cam members and also the position at which the rollers 164 and 16 6 move out of engagement therewith at the end positions of the gun travel to lock their associated bevel gears 148 or 150.

It should also be noted that the ends of the cam members 167 and 168 are beveled at 190 (FIG. 11) to enable the rollers 164 and 166- to easily become re-engaged therewith when the gun assembly begins a stroke. The position of one end only of each of the cam members 167 and 168 is critical to the operation since each of the members controls the locking and releasing of a different one of the bevel gears 148 and 150. In substantially all other positions of the assembly 50 the gears 148 and 150 are free to rotate. The spacing between the critical ends of the members 167 and 168 is adjustable over a wide range as can be seen, and this is desirable because it greatly increases the flexibility and versatility of the machine.

The actual stroke'length of the gun assembly 50 can also be controlled by the shape of the cam 112, and by adjustment of the yoke assembly including the position of the roller 84 on the arm 86.

The gun assembly 50 including the non-rotatable inlet wire guide assembly 58 extends from the guide assembly 58 at one end to and including the rotatable wire guide 52 at the other end and this entire structure reciprocates and rotates as a unit during a winding operation. The guide assembly 58 does not rotate, however, because it must maintain an operative relationship with the incoming wire. For this reason, the assembly 58 is mounted for reciprocating movement on the rail 64. During longitudinal movement of the gun assembly 50, however, when both of the bevel gears 148 and 150 are free to rotate no rotation of the gun assembly 50 can take place because at these times, the guide 52 is moving longitudinally along and through a slot 34 in the stator core 32 laying wire therein. Furthermore, the energy stored in the spring 138 during the last indexing operation will be dissipated as soon as the assembly 50 moves far enough to release the locked bevel gear 148 or 150 Thereafter, until the gun assembly 50 again reaches the end of the stroke, the index means will not be able to again rotate the assembly 50.

The indexing means are shown in FIGS. 1, 5, 7 and 10 and includes a second follower assembly 200' which is mounted for rotatable movement on a shaft 202. The assembly 200 has two follower rollers 204 and 206 mounted thereon which, like the rollers 104 and 106, are engaged with opposite surfaces on the rotatable cam member 112. During rotation of the structure 108 '(FIG. 5), the cam 112 alternately angularly moves the follower assemblies 200 and 102 in opposite directions and through a predetermined angle to produce axial and rotational movements of the assembly 50. Movements of the assembly 200 moves an arm 20'8 (FIGS. 1 and 7) which is located on the opposite end of the shaft 202 from the assembly 200. The arm 208 carries a shaft 210* which is pivotally connected to a slide member 212 movably positioned on a pair of spaced parallel rods 214 and 216. The rods 214 and 216 are attached at their upper ends to a segment gear 218 and at their lower ends to a rocker member 220 mounted on a shaft 222.

The segment gear 218 meshes with another gear 224 which is mounted on a rotatable member 226 that is part of the indexing mechanism 141. The member 226 is in turn mounted on the barrel of the gun assembly 58. The rotatable structure 226 is journaled to the machine frame structure 228 by bearing assemblies 230 and 232 (FIG. 10) and is also slidable but not rotatable on the barrel member 120 by means of a sliding connection therebetween. The sliding connection between the members 226 and 120 is formed by one or more elongated grooves 234 in the barrel 120', rows of bearing rollers 236 which cooperate with said grooves 234 and other grooves 238 in the member 226 which also cooperate with the bearing rollers 236. This means that barrel 120 can slide back and forth through the member 226 during reciprocating longitudinal movements of the gun assembly 50, and it also means that the rollers 236 and the cooperating grooves 234 and 238 provide a drive connection between the member 226 and the barrel 120 for rotating the gun assembly 50 during the indexing operations. Any number of rows of bearing rollers 236 and cooperating grooves 234 and 238 can be provided.

During certain portions of the angular rotation of the structure 108, the cam 112 will impart movements to the segment gear 218 which in turn will rotate the gear 224, the assembly 226, and hence also the gun assembly 50. This will also rotate the structure 114 (FIG. 6) in the housing 70 and the wire guide member 52 (FIG. 3) both of which are parts of the gun assembly. As already discussed, rotation of the structure 114 occurs alternately with the reciprocating movements of the gun. At one end of travel, however, the segment gear 218 will move in one direction and at the opposite end will move in the opposite direction. However, in both positions a different bevel gear 148 and 150 will be prevented from rotating to enable the spring 138 to store energy for returning the rack gear during the next feed cycle. Thereafter, during the reciprocating movements of the gun assembly 50 the segment gear 218 will have no effect on the operation, see FIG. 27.

Again referring to FIG. 7, it can be seen that the connection between the arm 208 and the seqment gear 218 is adjustable to change the amount of angular movement imparted to the assembly 50 by the index mechanism during each indexing cycle. This in turn controls the amount of angular movement of the guide 52 and hence also the angular spacing between adjacent coil sides to be wound. The adjustment is obtained by changing the position of the slide 212 on the spaced rods 214 and 216. The slide 212 is connected to the arm 208 by the pivot shaft 210 as aforesaid, and the shaft 210 is mounted for slidable movement along a track 240 in the arm 208.

To adjust the position of the slide 212 on the rods 214 and 216, and hence also the location of the shaft 210 on the arm 208 which also includes a sliding connection, the slide 212 is pivotally connected to the upper end of a link 242. The lower end of the link 242 is pivotally connected to a vertically movable rack gear 244 which meshes with a round gear 246. The gear 246 is connected to another gear 248 which meshes with another rack gear 250. The rack gear 250 is connected to a fluid or pneumatic motor 252 by means of a movable piston and rod assemby 254. The gears 246 and 248 are mounted for rotational 

1. MEANS FOR WINDING STATORS AND THE LIKE INCLUDING A CORE STRUCTURE HAVING AN OPENING WITH SPACED WINDING SLOTS COMMUNICATING THEREWITH COMPRISING MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE CORE STRUCTURE DURING WINDING THEREOF, A SOURCE OF WINDING WIRE MEANS FOR DIRECTING THE WINDING WIRE FROM SAID SOURCE INTO THE SLOTS OF THE CORE STRUCTURE IN A PREDETERMINED ARRANGEMENT, SAID WIRE DIRECTING MEANS INCLUDING A RECIPROCATING ASSEMBLY HAVING AN INLET END RECEIVING WIRE FROM THE SOURCE AND AN OUTLET END INCLUDING A WIRE GUIDE MEMBER MOVABLE BACK AND FORTH THROUGH PREDETERMINED CORE SLOTS IN A PREDETERMINED ARRANGEMENT, MEANS FOR ROTATING THE OUTLET END OF THE RECIPROCATING ASSEMBLY IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF TRAVEL OF THE RECIPROCATING ASSEMBLY WHEREBY THE OUTLET END OF SAID ASSEMBLY ALTERNATELY MOVES LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH A DIFFERENT CORE SLOT DURING SUCCEEDING RECIPROCATION MOVEMENTS THEREOF, SAID MEANS FOR ROTATING THE OUTLET END OF THE RECIPROCATING ASSEMBLY INCLUDING MEANS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY PREDETERMINATELY MOVING WIRE THROUGH SAID ASSEMBLY AND OUT OF THE OUTLET END THEREOF, AND GUIDE MEANS POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID CORE STRUCTURE ON OPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF IN POSITION TO RECEIVE AND ACCURATELY FORM AND POSITION WIRE THAT IS FED FROM THE FEED ASSEMBLY DURING ROTATIONS THEREOF AND WHICH EXTENDS BETWEEN SUCCEEDING SLOTS BEING WOUND. 